3 Reasons to Use the Gig Economy for Sporting Event Staffing

Looking to assemble your stadium staffing A-team? Consider leveraging gig economy platforms for these three reasons.

For many, weekends (and a select few weeknights) just haven’t been the same for the past six months.

Why? One word – football.

But the drought of anticipation and excitement has been erased now that football is back. The football season is long, lasting from August through January for the best of college teams and September through February for NFL teams.

While your hero of the game might be the quarterback who’s out on the field or the rookie who scored the game-winning touchdown, let’s not forget about the unsung heroes who make each game possible.

Whether it’s the attendant scanning tickets at the gate, the usher helping you find your seat, or the event concessions worker who’s slinging hotdogs, it takes a small army to make sure the fan experience is exceptional.

But finding workers who can commit to the demands of a football season – long days and nights, weekend work, and frigid temperatures later in the season – isn’t easy. Gig economy platforms that offer on-demand shift workers can be the MVP of your football season staffing.

Here are three reasons why you should sub out your traditional methods and add gig economy platforms to your game plan.

Flexible Staffing Throughout the Season

As you look to hire staff for your sporting events, don’t underestimate the impact that gig economy apps can have on helping you find flexible shift workers.

Football stadiums experience fluctuating demand throughout the season. Certain games, like the first game of the season, college homecoming, playoffs, or a major rivalry matchup, will likely draw out a larger crowd.

An on-demand workforce platform enables stadiums to adjust their headcount as needed based on the size of the crowd or the specific needs of each game.

Not to mention, gig economy apps can come in handy when there are needs that you weren’t anticipating. For example, if a dozen workers call out the morning of a big game or fan attendance is higher than expected for a particular matchup, you can easily post your needs on a gig platform and watch the applications come in within minutes.

Cost Savings in Your Pocket

Although many businesses leverage more traditional methods to source workers, such as recruiters, staffing agencies, or job boards, gig economy solutions are increasingly becoming the norm across industries.

Even though you may want to rely solely on full-time employees, gig economy workers can be a more cost-effective workforce solution - especially for venues with consistent, high-volume needs.

If your current method of sourcing stadium workers isn’t working or is too expensive, consider leveraging gig economy platforms instead. Since gig economy workers are independent contractors, you are not required to extend the same employee benefits, such as health insurance, to them that you are for W-2 employees.

Additionally, hiring a full-time employee costs up to 1.4 times the hourly rate that you’re looking to pay them. With gig economy platforms, you only use workers when you need them – and most of the time you do not need to pay until they have successfully completed the work.

Large Roster of Shift Workers to Meet Your High-Volume Needs

From maintenance staff to event concessions workers to bartenders and more, staffing a game requires a multitude of workers with a breadth of experience. Between all of these different shift-type needs, it’s estimated that NFL stadiums require approximately 1,000 workers to manage the game-day experience. For some of the largest college stadiums with loyal fan bases, that number likely doesn't differ too greatly.

Given the number of games and events that take place throughout the season – and beyond – trusted, high-quality workers are a consistent need.

But accessing a large, readily available pool of event workers isn’t always easy. Especially as the weather cools down and games get closer to - or are played on - holidays. And just think about the negative impact a staffing shortage can have on not only fan experience but also your stadium’s revenue.

According to a report by Oracle, fans would spend 42% more at concessions stands if lines were cut in half and, if given control over a budget to improve the fan experience, 43% of fans would allocate funds towards improving food and beverage delivery.

Regardless of the help you’re looking for, it’s likely that you can find shift workers fast through a gig economy platform.

Event Concessions Workers
Janitorial
Ushers
Ticket Scanners
Bartenders
Event Servers

Through an easy-to-use web app, you can source bartenders, servers, dishwashers, setup/breakdown crew, and more. Simply post a shift, review applicant profiles, and select the shift worker who you find best suited for the task at hand.

The MVP of Sporting Event Staffing

Although fans come to the game to support their team or see their favorite player, the sporting event workers are the backbone of the fan experience.

From the opening home game to the championship matchup, finding the seasonal employees your business needs can be made easier with gig workers.

Gig economy platforms, like shiftNOW, can connect you with a pool of high-quality shift workers with various skill sets who are looking for seasonal, part time, or full-time opportunities.